Apparatus for washing or cleaning plates, dishes, and the like



Jan. 27 1942. E. .v. VARLEY- ET AL APPARATUS FOR WASHING OR CLEANINGPLATES, DISHES AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 1, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet l 2l/fnventor y i Z k Attorney VJ Jan. 27, 1942. E. v. VARLEY ET AL2,271,052

APPARATUS FOR WASHING OR CLEANING PLATES, DISHES. AND THE LIKE FiledSept. 1, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 2. 1 5 --6 15 31 2 20 I Ih 21 19 303 33;? 3 17 Z, ,:::::ig 23 23"i MM I I 1/ 25 I 4 euaaze 6 ,fl/BBEE alFEED c'ovz'esp 27 3 Fig.3.

RUBBER COVERED 1 In ventor v m M Jan. 27, 1942. E. v. VARLEY ETAL2,271,052

APPARATUS FOR WASHING 0R CLEANING PLATES, DISHES Q AND THE LIKE FiledSept. 1, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Jan. 27, 1942. E. v. VARLEY ET AL2,271,052

APPARATUS FOR WASHING OR CLEANING PLATES, DISHES AND THE LIKE FiledSept. 1, 1939 4 Shets-Sheet 4 L. 219 [tor/76y Patented Jan. 27, 1942"UNi TE was PATENT oar-ice APPARATUS FOR WASHING R GLE-ANING PLATES,DISHES, AND THE LIKE Ernest Vernon Varley and AlfonsovFraulo, London,England Application September 1, 1939. Serial N0.' 292; 2'8 In GreatBritain =September:9,.a193-8 6 Claims.

article to be Washed or cleaned is inserted between opposing andoppositely rotating brushes 'or the like, said article receiving acombined rotaryxand lateral motionwhen so positioned.

.In 'one known apparatusof the above type the washing or cleaning ofboth sides of eacharticle is effected simultaneously bymeans'of'tworotary cleaning units the .drivingspindles of which are parallelto each other and arerotated inopposite directions. In this apparatusthe article in process of being washed or cleaned is supported by itsedge at an inclination between a lowersupport on which the article isfree to roll and a vertical support in the form of a rotating cam orswash plate which causes the article to move laterally byrocking aboutthe aforesaid lower support. The article in process of being washed orcleaned is caused to rotate by reason of the .fact .thatthe .article ismaintained insuch a position by theaforesaid supports that the cleaningunits actalwaysvon 'one;siderof the centreof "the article, the Wholesurface being acted upon as a result of the consequential rotation ofthe article.

The object of the present invention is to provide in or for use in'anapparatus of the type specified an improved cleaning unit in whichthe opposing movements of one pair of opposing :re volving brushes ortheir equivalent are utilised bodily to displace each engaged article tocause the article periodically to be also engaged by a further pair ofoppositely revolving and opposing brushes or their equivalent for thepurpose of producing further bodily displacement .of the article in thereturn direction together with a turning'movement aboutits own axis.

.Broadly the present invention consists of a washing or cleaning unit,in or for use in apparatus for washing or cleaning plates, dishes andthe like, said cleaning unit comprising at least two pairs of rotarybrushes or their equivalent, said brushes being arranged as two opposinggroups, each group :having two brushes in coaxial alignment, drivingmeans for-said brushes such that the brushes in each pair turn-inopposite directionsboth in relation'to each other and to thecorresponding brushes in the next pair the brushesin each pair rotatingat the same or different speeds and preferably at different speeds tothe brushes in the adjacent pair, and means for utilising the opposingmovements of one pair of opposing brushes to displace the article :en-

gaged therebetween to a position where it also becomes engaged betweenthe next pair of opposing brushes.

In one embodiment of the invention the pairs of rotary brushes arearranged in parallel relationship and in use they are mounted within thecentral compartment of a "tank adapted to contain washing liquid, andhorizontally above a device having an interrupted or'continuousinclined-surface 'to produce the initial displacement of each article tobe washed. 'The'tank-in this embodiment is divided by two vertical andpreferably perforated partitions, into three "compartments, the centralcompartment containing the rotary brushes and -the two outercompartments overflow pipes opening 'at the normal upperlevel of thecontained liquid to carry away the grease and other scum which collectson 'the surface of the liquid within these outer compartments.

In a further embodiment the pairs ofhorizon- -ta1 brushes arearrangedvertically one 'pair above the other and used in conjunction with'meansfor diverting'thecleaned articles on to acon- 've-yor 'fortransierence"into a rinsing tank.

In'order that the invention may be clearly understood and carried intoefiect one practical application of the same will now be descr'ibed'byway of example, by aid of the accompanying drawings in which: I

Fig. 1 is a perspective view-'o'f'a complete machine according {to thepresent invention with parts broken away and omitted and showing thepreferred construction of device for producing side displacement of eacharticle to be washed or cleaned.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the machine with the plate rackremoved and illustrat- .ing a. modified form of the displacing device.

. "Fig. 3 isa top plane view of the machine as illustratedin Fig.2.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view showing the driving means for thehigher speed brushes on one side of the machine.

:Fig. 5 i'satransverse section through the machine illustrated in Fig. 3and showing in dotted lines the :driving means for the slower revolvingbrushes on the opposite-side-of the machine.

Fig.6 illustrates a further modification hereafter 'to be described.

Figure 7 illu'strates a side elevation in perspective involving :amodified drive 'for the revolving brushes :of each series.

'The apparatus illustrated in the-drawings with particular reference toFigs. 1 to5 comprises an open rectangular tank I to hold the Water orThese openings are situated opposite The cleaning unit in the presentexample is situated within the central compartment of the tank andcomprises four rotary brushes 5, 6, 1, 8. These brushes are arrangedco-axially as pairs, 5, 6 and I, 8, and said pairs are mounted so as toreside in parallel relationship with the brushes 5, 6, opposing thebrushes 1, 8.

Each brush is mounted so as to be free to rotate independently of theother brushes, but in the example illustrated the opposing brushes 5, 1,on one side are coupled together by one driving means and the otheropposing brushes 6, 8, by a separate driving means. If desired, however,each brush may be driven separately, so that the brushes in each pairmay either rotate at the same or different speeds. The driving meansillustrated, which will hereafter be described in detail, are such thatthe brushes 5, 1 will be rotated inwards towards each other whilst theother pair of brushes 6, 8 will be rotated outwards or away from eachother, and at the same time the inwardly rotating brushes 5, 1 will bedriven at a higher speed, for example, twice the speed, of the other oroutwardly rotating brushes.

Situated on the bottom of the tank so as to oppose the longitudinalintersection between the two pairs of opposing brushes is a device whichcomprises, in one example, an interrupted inclined surface and, inanother example, a continuous inclined surface. This device is for thepurpose of utilising the opposing rotary movements of the brushes 5, I,to cause an inserted article, for example, the plate 9, to be bodilydisplaced towards the intersection between the other pair of opposingbrushes 6, 8, so that it becomes simultaneously engaged by both pairs ofbrushes for a purpose which will hereafter appear.

In the example illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings the inclinedsurface of the device abovementioned is constituted by three rollers, anupper roller In, an intermediate roller l l and a lower roller E2 thetwo latter rollers being arranged in relatively close proximity to eachother.

In advance of the lower roller I2 is a horizontal surface l3 and whenthe device is in position on the bottom of the tank, this horizontalportion projects beneath the intersection between the outwardly orupwardly revolving brushes 6, 8,

whilst the rollers H and [2 of the stepped series of rollers residewithin the width of the inwardly or downwardly revolving brushes 5, I.

The rollers H3, ll, l2 are preferably composed of or covered with aresilient material such as rubber, as is also the horizontal surface 13,to prevent the edges of the articles from becoming chipped or bent. Sucha protection against damage is necessary as the speed of the brushes 5,I imparts considerable downward velocity to each article as it ispositioned between them.

With a cleaning unit as above described each article, as it is insertedbetween the brushes 5, 1, by the operator is carried rapidly downwardsuntil its edge strikes the upper roller l0, which causes it to bedeflected sideways so that the continued downward movement brings thearticle into successive engagement with the intermediate and lowerrollers ll, l2. This results in further deflection or displacement ofthe article and to such an extent that the forward portion of thearticle is forced between the upwardly roating brushes 5, 8. Althoughthe previous displacement of the article causes the same partially toturn about its axis, the fact of opposite sides of the same beingsimultaneously engaged by the two pairs of brushes results in thearticle being rotated about its own axis several times whilst it is alsocaused to move bodily upwards and at the same time to turn back in thedirection where, if not removed, it will again become wholly engagedbetween the first mentioned pair of brushes. The article will continueto move in this somewhat elliptical path of travel until it is liftedout of engagement with the brushes, but in practice the article will besufficiently cleaned after one or only a few of such cycles for it to beremoved. The removal is readily effected as during the time it issimultaneously engaged by both pairs of brushes it will rise to aposition where it may be grasped by the operator.

The grease and other solid matter scraped off each article by therubbing actions of the brushes 5, l is flung outwards through theopenings 4 in the partitions 2, and so into the two outer compartmentsof the tank, where it rises to the surface of the contained liquid andis drained away through the overflow pipes 14. By this means the liquidin the central compartment of the tank is maintained relatively clean.

The level of liquid within the tank is maintained at the upper levelrepresented by the open ends of the overflow pipes, by make-up liquidwhich can be introduced, preferably into the central compartment, by anysuitable means, not shown.

Each revolving brush in the example illustrated comprises an annularwooden foundation 15 for the bristles and two end plates l6 which arescrewed or otherwise affixed centrally to 0pposite ends of the woodenfoundation. outside of each end plate and centrally thereof, is affixeda boss I! which is cut away as shown so that each boss forms one half ofa scarf joint. The associated halves of this scarf joint are formed onthe opposing ends of driving shafts l3. At the opposing ends of eachaligned pair of brushes is positioned a bearing unit [9 comprising twosleeves having flanges at the adjacent ends thereof mounted to formintermediate peripheral surfaces 20 which act as a spacer to maintainthe two brushes in spaced relationship to each other. This bearing unitI9 as well as opposing recesses in the two end bosses I! operate toafford a detachable support for a rod 2| which serves to'maintain eachpair of brushes in axial alignment. Although the bearing unit has beenshown as comprising two sleeves having flanges at their ends, it iswithin theprovince of this invention to provide a single bearing unithaving a central peripheral flange to serve as a spacer, for the purposeaforesaid.

By means of the scarf joint connection between each pair of brushes andtheir respective driving shafts, it is possible, simply by unfasteningthe connecting bolts 22, to lift each pair of brushes out of the tankfor cleaning or other purposes.

The driving means for the pairs of opposing brushes on opposite sides ofthe machine comprise a continuous chain 23 engaging sprocket wheels 24on the ends of the driving shafts l8 and smaller sprocket wheels 25 and26 on opposite ends of a lay shaft extending across the underside of thetank. This lay shaft is driven from an electric motor 21 and as thesprocket wheel 25 which drives the brushes 5, 1 is larger than thecorresponding sprocket wheel 26, said brushes 5, 1 will be driven at ahigher speed than the opposite brushes 6, 8.

In Fig. 1 is illustrated one suitable form of To the draining rack foruse in connection with a machine according to the present invention,such rack being indicated at 28, but as this rack forms no part of thepresent invention, no further description of the same is necessary.

In Figs. 2 and 3 there is illustrated a modified form of the device fordisplacing each article asit is being washed, such modificationcomprising a member 29 corresponding to the upper roller in, in thedevice shown in Fig. 1, and a further bent member having an inclinedportion 30 with a continuous surface and a horizontal portion 3| at itsfoot, said surfaces being covered with rubber or other resilientmaterial as in the first described example.

If desired the articles as they are washed may be deliveredautomatically from the brushes onto a conveyor which conveys them out ofthe washing machine and into a rinsing tank.

One such arrangement for this purpose is shown diagrammatically in Fig.6 which is a plan view of a washing machin adapted for this purpose.

In this arrangement the pairs of brushes are arranged vertically onepair above the other and driven in a similar manner to the previousarrangement, the brushes 5 and l rotating in a direction which feeds thearticle towards the rear of the tank and the brushes 6 and 8 rotating inthe opposite direction.

The articles to be washed are fed in at the front of the machine and aredelivered to the first pair of brushes 5 and I by a curved feed plate 32which turns each article as it is put into the machine from a verticalto a horizontal position.

As the article emerges from the rear of the brushes 5 and 1 it engageswith a ramp 33 which constitutes the aforementioned inclined surface andwhich imparts the lateral sliding movement to the article to feed thesame between the brushes 6 and 8.

When th article becomes engaged between both sets of brushes it isthereby brought back to the front of the machine and as it emerges frombetween such brushes its forward edge engages with a further inclinedramp 34 which imparts a lateral movement to the same so that the articleis'fed onto an endless band conveyor 35 which delivers it to a rinsingtank, not shown, from which it may be removed by means of a furtherconveyor not shown for drying so that the operations of washing, rinsingand drying are all effected automatically.

As shown in the modification of Figure 7, the drive for the brushes maybe constructed so that brushes 5' and 6' are driven from motor 21'through respectively sprocket wheels 36 and 31 connected by chain 28 forbrush 5' and sprocket wheels 39 and 40 connected by cross-chain 4! forbrush 6; while brushe 1 and 8' are driven by motor 2'!" throughrespectively sprocket wheels 42 and 43 connected by cross-chain 44 forbrush 1 and sprocket wheels 45 and 46 connected by chain 41 for brush 3.In this embodiment the respective brushes are mounted on the spacedshafts in connection with the assembly shown in the remaining figures ofthe drawings and are separately driven in the direction of the arrows sothat the brushes in each pair may either rotat at the same or differentspeeds, as determined by the changes in R. P. M. of the motors 21" and21" and the substitution of different sizes for some or all of thesprocket wheels 31 and 40 cooperating with one aligned set of brushes 5'and 6' and sprocket wheels 43 and 46 cooperating with the other alignedset of brushes 1' and 8.

This embodiment illustrates but one method and assembly by which thebrushes may be driven separately, so that those in each pair may eitherrotate at the same or different speeds and is not to be construed by wayof limitation as to the method or assembly to accomplish such result.

Although the term brush has been used throughout the specification itwill be understood that this term is also intended to cover otherdevices of a similar character and devices for effecting polishing onlyas distinct from washmg.

It is also to be understood that for certain operations where a liquidis not required the cleaning unit may be used with or without a tank.

What we claim is:

1. In or for use in apparatus for washing or cleaning plates, dishes andthe like, a washing or cleaning unit comprising at least two pairs ofrotary brushes, said brushes being arranged as two opposing groups, eachgroup having two brushes in co-axial alignment, driving means for saidbrushes such that the brushes in each pair turn in opposite directionsboth in relation to each other and to the corresponding brushes in thenext pair and means for utilising the opposing movements of one pair ofopposing brushes to displace the article engaged therebetween to aposition where it also becomes engaged between the next pair of opposingbrushes.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the brushes are driven so thatone pair of opposing brushes rotates at a higher speed than the ad,-jacent pair of brushes.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein in each pair of opposingbrushes one brush is rotated at a higher speed than the other.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the brushes are mountedhorizontally and above an inclined surface which is arranged so as tooppose the longitudinal intersection between one opposing pair ofbrushes for the purpose specified.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the brushes are mountedhorizontally with one brush group positioned vertically above the otherand in association with a pair of inclined surfaces, said surfaces beingdisposed on opposite sides of the brushes, one to ensur the returnmovement of each article between the brushes and the other to delivereach washed article onto a conveyor for removal.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the I pairs of rotary brushesare arranged in parallel relationship within the central compartment ofa tank which is divided by two vertical and preferably perforatedpartitions into three communicating compartments, said tank beingadapted to receive a quantity of water or other washing liquid, and saidouter compartments having means for draining away scum from the uppersurface of the liquid.

ERNEST VERNON VARLEY. ALFONSO FRAULO.

